Tree Martin
Tree Martin
12.5-14 cm. Small dark swallow, stubbier than Welcome Swallow, with dull white rump and short tail. Note deep-buff forehead, black crown, smutty cheeks; underparts whitish, washed buff, finely streaked darker. Tends to fly higher when feeding than Welcome Swallow. Flight clipped, erratic; wingbeats shallow, fluttering, with quick turns. Forms loose colonies in large river red gums, sweeping blithely around their heads, plunging into high nest hollows. Flocks roost communally in their high foliage. In Non-breeding season, migrating or nomadic companies of hundreds to thousands form temporary roosts in reedbeds, pouring into them at dusk. Resident in some urban areas, e.g. Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra. Associates with Welcome Swallows, Fairy Martins; perches overhead wires.
- Other name
- Tree Swallow.
- Similar Species
- Fairy Martin: crown ginger; cheeks pale; whiter rump; call distinctive.
- Voice
- animated sweet twittering, elaborated in song.
- Habitat
- open country with large trees; e.g. river red gums, on watercourses, rivers, lakes/wetlands.
- Breeding
- July-Jan.
- Nest
- loose grass, leaves, in hollow tree spout, partly walled off by mud. Several pairs may use one entrance. Sometimes in hole in cliffs, hole or ventilator in city building, or abandoned Fairy Martin nest.
- Eggs
- 3-5; pinkish white, finely freckled pale rusty brown at large end.
- Range & Status
- Aust. and Tas., coastal islands; avoids driest deserts. Breeds mostly s. of Tropic; many migrate n. to NT, n. Q, PNG, in Feb.-May, returning s. July-Oct. Common. Also Indonesia, PNG, New Cal.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Petrochelidon nigricans neglecta 2. Petrochelidon nigricans nigricans
